Ice Cream & grocery shopping

Auntie Susus is here!

Messy

What happens when you let a 1 yr old feed herself yogurt...

Sabino Canyon hike

Last of the beautiful Spring Flowers

1 year stats

Baby Kate is weighing in at 22.6 pounds and 31 inches tall.

Happy Birthday to Baby Katherine!

Our little girl turned one year today!  We are back in Tucson, arrived on Mother's Day and have yet to unpack.  This includes the camera and the battery charger.  :)  I am determined to get through the bags by the time Cousin Nathan gets here on Friday and Auntie Sussus gets here on Saturday!  

Little Katherine loves to dance, loves music, and loves to sing into her microphone.  She has a total of 2 cute little teeth on the bottom and 4 teeth on the top.  She loves avocados, cheese, melon, and BLUEBERRIES!  She will antagonize her older sister just when she sits down to draw or work on a project.  Actually, she will crawl over to Maggie, poke her, spin around and crawl as quick as she can 3 or 4 feet, sit down and laugh!  She did that at least 15 times in a row today.  I think I am seeing the future.  She is a warm spirit and everyone just loves it when she smiles.  The woman behind us in line at Starbucks today said, "Wow... that smile just made my whole day.  No... my whole week.  She sure can make someone feel special."  I was so touched.  A special little girl who smiles with her whole being, crinkling up her nose and squinting her eyes.  Amazing.  Did I mention her pacifier?  She loves them!  It will put her to sleep in a few minutes where ever we are and since we have been traveling, I am grateful for that!

She loves to listen to Daddy's version of "This little light of mine" that includes words/phrases like 'monkeypants' and 'do a little dance'.  She also plays this little piggy on her own toes mimicking the sounds of the rhyme.  I heard her on the monitor, it was pretty amazing and cute.  Hard to believe but she can tickle herself and laughs!  She took her first few steps last week and is now cruising across the room.  She is really fast at crawling and I have quickly childproofed the house here in Tucson.  Not before she was half way up the stairs before I could turn around twice.  She does have a really strong opinion and today threw herself face down on the floor kicking both of her feet, banging her fists on the floor, and yelling at me.  The offense... I took a hairclip away from her.  

We love our little baby Kate.  She is a dream baby and a joy to see every morning.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Beach time with baby Kate

Pizza my heart!!

Back on the other side of the bay at the beach house! First stop... Original pizza my heart :)

Playing with daddy

Sunset at Carmel beach

Daddy is home!

Still in Pebble!

Change of plans again! We are getting good at this. At this rate we will never make it back to Arizona! We are staying here for another week. John gets in tomorrow morning. His flight from Poland puts him in Tucson by midnight tonight... His flight to Monterey is at 6 am tomorrow morning. He will have about 3 hours at the house to unpack, pack, and drive back to the airport. He is coming to help me... But I don't think he will want to do much more than sleep! We are hoping all will be well and we will head home at the weekend. Until then we are enjoying the blue skies, seeing friends, and catching up on life.


Mommy & baby K on the hike to Indian Village. Taken by budding photog Maggie.


Maggie leading the way...

Beach time

Easter

Happy Easter! We are still in California and spent a great Easter with the Chambers. So fun to see the cousins and their beautiful girls. Maggie ate jelly beans from morning to night. A 12 hour sugar high! The baby took 2 more full steps in hopes of joining the egg hunt. She is on the move!

















Cute cousins!





Maggie's cupcake she decorated





Looking like an angel

First steps

Look who took her first step today! A giant step from the couch to the coffee table. She was so proud of herself! She is also talking a little bit. Mama, dada, hi, byebye. So much fun to listen to her!

At the park again

Outdoor class

Finally some pics of England

Family pic in front of our old house... The Old Rectory.


Feeding the horses at the end of the road


Under the village sign





Maggie running around in her first garden at The Old Rectory





The name of our room at the pub!


John enjoying a pint of Adnams broadside... A pic of the small cozy bar at the pub





Daddy telling Maggie about her life while in Barton





Breakfast at the pub. A very proper British guest at the pub asked Maggie what her name was. Maggie's response: "pumpkin cakes!"


Cute little Katherine at breakfast.

Home sweet California!

The girls and I arrived yesterday into SFO.  What a wonderful welcome from my folks!  Mom waiting with cupcakes in hand for Maggie.  I can't begin to explain how smooth our trip went.  From the night before spent at the Sofitel, to the concierge who delivered all of our bags to the check in, to the beautiful Terminal 5 lounge, to our comfy seats, to the flight attendants carrying all of my bags.  If I wasn't exhausted and traveling with two small children alone it would have been a wonderful, relaxing trip!

We spent the weekend visiting our old village and friends in the UK.  I have pics and stories and lots of things to write about our love for the UK... Adnams, the Spread Eagle, Church Farm, Dawn's brownies, the Old Rectory, Mary's (the one across the road) cooking, seeing the Simon girls all grown up and working at the pub, a visit to the Queen's country house Sandringham, visiting Buckle the super sow, eating a steak and ale pie with Otis the big FAT cat at the Hare Arms pub, screaming peacocks, !!!.  Yes, it rural Norfolk we are talking about.  That is as exciting as it gets.

It was so nice to be back, but we missed all of our friends who have moved on.  What a great time we had looking back on all of the fun nights we had in the Old Rectory...  sitting around the kitchen table I picked up on the side of the road in Bury (thanks Belinda for spotting it!) and sharing a cuppa (or a glass of wine or two!) with so many interesting people.   I loved it when someone would just pop round.

I have many pics to post, but I must run to bed because both girls are asleep and jet lag has been rough.  We will probably be awake from 1 am - 6 am tonight.  If anyone is up and bored... give us a call!

Family day in Woodge!

Last day out in Lodz.  It was beautiful!  Sun shining and almost 50 degrees!  We had lunch with daddy at a great French restaurant.  

Maggie dressed herself today and told me exactly how to do her hair.  

Jane... This picture is for YOU!  He can't wait for Pina Coladas or Boy Bands in Arizona!

Maggie wanted to take some pictures of us.  Here is the first attempt.  Pretty good!

Another one from Maggie!

The new photographer